Need much stronger regulation on deepfakes, talks on with industry: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The problem of deepfakes is growing rapidly and requires stronger regulation to protect children and society at large, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday, adding that the Government has begun consultations with the industry on additional safeguards beyond those already in place.

He said discussions are underway with social media platforms on tackling deepfakes and age-based restrictions, to determine the most appropriate way forward on the issue.

The minister said any company — be it Netflix, YouTube, Meta, or X — must abide by the legal framework and the Constitution of India. Vaishnaw said the problem of deepfakes is growing day by day and asserted that stronger regulation is needed. “I think we need a much stronger regulations on deepfakes. It is a problem growing day by day. Certainly, there is a need for protecting our children and our society from these harms... We have initiated a dialogue with industry on what kind of regulation will be needed beyond what we already have,” the minister said.

The parliamentary committee, too, has studied the issue in depth, he said.

“We need much stronger regulations on deepfakes and we must definitely create that consensus within Parliament for creating that significantly stronger restriction on deepfakes so society can be protected from these harms,” the Minister said at a briefing during the AI Summit.

He pointed out that many countries have accepted the need for age-based restrictions.

“This is something that has been accepted by many countries, that age-based regulation has to be there. It was part of our DPDP... When we created this age-based differentiation on the content which is accessible to students and to young people. So that time itself, we took that forward-looking step,” he said.